Knife



E. E. FOSTER Nov. 2, 1943.

KNIFE Filed Aug. 27, 1945 31mm $3 M 50m Patented Nov. 2, 1943 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE KNIFE Edgar E. Foster, Omaha, Nebr.

Application August 27, 1943, Serial No. 500,279

Claims.

This invention relates to a knife which is more particularly adapted for use in war Work.

An object of the invention is the provision of a knife which is designed particularly as a military weapon for use in hand to hand fighting, and which is so constructed that when the handle is gripped, said handle will be forced back far into the palm of the hand so that the blade will be held in a line with the forearm for the purpose of delivering a hard blow.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a knife having a hand grip so constructed that it will protect the hand by giving a firm grip for the fingers of the operator so that a powerful blow may be delivered by the knife.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a knife designed particularly as a military weapon for use in hand to hand fighting in which a broad fiat grip portion is provided with passages to receive the fingers of the operator with a hand grip adapted to be fitted into the palm of the hand and located outwardly of the passages for the fingers. Said knife, when properly gripped, will extend outwardly and in line with the forearm so that a powerful blow may be delivered.

This invention will be best understood from a consideration of the following detailed description, in view of the accompanying drawing forming a part of the specification; nevertheless, it is to be understood that the invention is not confined to the disclosure, being susceptible of such changes and modifications as define no material departure from the salient features of the invention as expressed in the appended claims.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a view in elevation of a knife constructed according to the principles of my invention.

Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal section taken along the line 2--2 of Fig. 1.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, I0 designated a steel blade which is fiat and tapered, so that its side edges I I are inclined to the vertical, and these side edges merge into a penetrating point I2 at the tip of the blade. The thickness of the blade is approximately 1% of an inch, although it is shown wider than this dimension in Fig. 2 for the purpose of illustration. However, the blade is made sufficiently thick so that the blade will not be bent during the operation.

A rectangular portion I3 is at one end of the blade and has approximately the same thickness as the blade. In other words, the portion I3 which forms the grip is a continuation of the blade l0 and in the same plane. The rectangular portion I3 is provided with four openings or passages I4 and these openings are located inwardly of the outer end I5 of the hand grip where the fingers of the operator may be conveniently inserted through the same when the handle portion I6 is snugly received by the palm of the hand. It will be noted that the opposite ends of the elongated openings I4 are curved as shown at I5. The dimensions of these openings, however, will vary to accommodate fingers of different thicknesses. -Where larger openings are required, the rectangular portion I3 may be made longer to take care of the larger openings.

A guard generally designated by the numeral has a portion 2| which separates the blade II! from the hand grip I3. This guard also has side members 22 and 23 which terminate at the outer edge I5a of the rectangular member I3. This guard is formed of a piece of metal which may have a slit in the portion 2| through which the blade is inserted and this slit extends through the curved portions 24 of the guard. The guard then may be welded to the rectangular member I3 at opposite faces of said member and along the side edges thereof. It will be further noted that the curved portions 25 of the side edges of the blade where said blade joins the rectangular member I3 curve inwardly sufficiently so that the split curved portions 24 of the guard will neatly engage around the connection between the blade m and the rectangular portion I3.

The hand grip I6 may be formed of ood, metal or plastic. It will be noted that the member I6 is formed of two sections and 3| which may be cemented to the opposite faces of the rectangular shaped member I3, and rivets 32 are inserted through passages in sections 30 and 3I and the rectangular shaped member I3. These rivets are provided with wide, thin heads 33 which are countersunk in the outer faces of the sections 30 and 3 I. The narrow rivets together with the thin heads aid in generally holding the sections in place and also prevent breakage of said section.

In operating the knife the fingers are inserted through the openings I4 and the member I6 is neatly inserted within the palm of the hand. The ends of the fingers will engage the outer face of the section 30 while a portion of the palm will engage the outer face of the section 3|. The thumb will rest over the outer face of the section I6. When the knife is gripped in the manner described above, it will extend longitudinally from the hand and in line with the forearm so that when the knife is thrust the full force of the muscles of the arm can be expended in the thrust with a powerful blow. Furthermore, the forward thrust can be supplemented by the full weight of the body. Thus, it will be seen that when the knife is driven forwardly it will be the same as a boxer driving a powerful blow with his fist with the .additionaleadvantage, whemattacking an enemy, of ,the sharp pointed blade delivering the blow instead of a glove.

I claim:

1. A knife comprising a flat piece of steel including a rectangular portion and a tapered por- I tion forming a pointed blade, the rectangularportion having a plurality of openings to receive the fingers of the operator, a handagrip mounted on the outer end of the rectangular portion to he received by the palm of the hand and a U-shaped guard 'havingthe big-ht portionsplitwto receive the inner end of the rectangularjrportionwith the legs of said Ueshaped:guardnbeing'weldeditothe side edges :of the rectangular portion, 1the ;split bight being :welded' to: the rectangular :portion.

2. A knife comprising-ya *fiattpificeiofrsteelitapered at. one end .to form az-iblflde, the: remaining portion 'beingrectangular and-forming a .handle, said handle vhavinga plurality offinger-receiving openings, a hand grip.securedutoxthenuter endpof the rectangularportionuandza guard-secured to the handle. in embracing relation with the .hand of the operator, "said guard ;extending outwardly from both of thenpposite 'facesiofrthefiatmctangular portion.

3. A knife :comprising wa'i flatapieeeof ste l-ta.- peredat 'one'endtozform aipointed blade, .the remaining portion vof the fiat zpiece daeing rectangular to provide a narrow handle extending acrossthe full width of the inner end of said blade, said handle having a plurality of alined finger-receiving openings adjacent the center of said handle, a hand grip at the outer end of the handle and formed of two sections of different thicknesses, one section being secured to one face of the handle, the other section being secured to the other face of the handle, and a b-shapedeguard .extendingoutwardly from the opposite faces of the handle and secured to the side edges of said handle and to the inner end 0f the rectangular portion.

4. A knife comprising a long tapered blade and a fiat rectangularly-shaped handle located in the wsame-plane .and formed of a thin flat piece of metal, a hand guard extending outwardly from three edges cfthe rectangularly-shaped handle,

the outer edge of the handle being free of the guard and provided with a hand grip projecting from :opposite :faces of the handle and,3'b,eing rounded transversely for, neat :reception in "the palm ofthehand, :saidhandle having :a plurality of 'fingerereceiving openings arranged in .alinement'acrossithe handle and adjacentytheinner edge, of the hand grip.

5. Aknife-comprising a' long tapered blade and a'flat rectangularly-shaped handle located in the same plane and "formedof a ,thin .flatpiece ,of metal, the outer edge of :the handle being provided =-with a .hand; grip projecting from opposite faces :01 the handle zandxzbeing rounded transversely for (neat :reception in ,the palm, of the hand. said handle having a plurality :of fingerrecei'ymg openings arrangedin alinement across the handle and adjacent the inner edge of the I hand grip.

* TEDGAR .E. gFOSTER. 

